


Our Unfinished Symphony

by TheGreenMeerkat



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hopeful Ending, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Karl Jacobs-centric, M/M, Multi, Past Alexis | Quackity/Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Story within a Story, Time Travelling Karl Jacobs, Web Series: Tales from the SMP
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29532969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheGreenMeerkat/pseuds/TheGreenMeerkat
Summary: With his quickly deteriorating memory, Karl writes down another story.Theirstory.
Relationships: Alexis | Quackity/Karl Jacobs/Sapnap, Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 135





	Our Unfinished Symphony

**Author's Note:**

> c!Karl please for the love of god WRITE MORE SHIT DOWN LEARN FROM RANBOO
> 
> Enjoy!

The first time he processes the enormous nature of the Inbetween is the first time he realizes there are other stories to be written.

Writing about his travels is important. It's how he can connect it all together, how he can stay sane, can share his experiences without revealing too much. The past ones are his favorite; these people he meets who are lost to time get to have their stories shared once more. The future travels are too surreal, too overwhelming. It's a reminder of all the work Karl has to do.

But he has to prioritize himself a little more - that's what Sapnap would say if he knew, Karl's sure of it. The diary entries help bring him back to the present, but it doesn't keep the memories of  _ his  _ past. It's taking far too long to explore the expanse of the Inbetween, and his memory isn't getting any better.

In his newest home, he sits on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and a lantern, and he starts writing.

It was easy to decide what to write first. His memories of his childhood have already faded too much to care about retrieving, and many of his recent memories involve wars and tragedy he watched from a distance. The thing that stood out from it all, the one good thing to come from the last year, was his engagement.

He could barely recall how it all started, struggling to start. Once he was able to find the beginning, however, everything came back to him with the flow of the ink on the page. He almost forgot how  _ painful _ it all started.

_ "Sap, I have something to tell you." I hadn't heard my voice shake that much in ages. I can only imagine I looked petrified, but Sapnap didn't seem to fully pick up on the weight of the situation. _

_ "You calling off the wedding or something?" It was said in a joking tone, as if he couldn't imagine I would do something like that. It only made things hurt so much more. _

_ "No, but… but you might." _

_ "What do you mean?" _

_ I squeezed my eyes shut until stars covered my vision. I thought for sure I was going to throw up before I got the words out, but I forced them out anyway. "I'm in love with Quackity." _

_ Sap was silent for far too long, yet I couldn't get myself to look at him and see why. It would have been unfair of me to show him my tears after what I had done. _

_ "B-but I'm in love with you, too. I don't- I know I shouldn't, but I love both of you, and I don't know how to pick just one." I was fully sobbing then, as I finally choked out the truth. "I kissed him. I'm so sorry but I--" _

_ "Stop." He didn't sound as angry as I expected, but he definitely wasn't happy. I think a part of me wanted him to snap at me, just so it could hit me how horrible I treated the ones I loved. "I don't… I need to process this, Karl. Just- leave me be for a while, okay?" _

He finds himself feeling guilty all over again. Never did Karl think he'd be the type to ever cheat on someone - then again, he never saw himself falling for two people, either. Nowadays, Quackity and Sapnap argue that the little kiss he gave Alex could barely be considered cheating, but Karl has to disagree. He almost misses when they held him more accountable for his misdemeanor.

Despite countless arguments and a hideous love triangle, Karl never had to choose between the two of them.

_ "Why don't we just do a three-way marriage?" _

_ "What?" The suggestion came out of nowhere to me at the time, but it was obvious looking back. Through all the stupid bickering and attempts to make each other jealous, Quackity and Sapnap were falling, too. _

_ "We all clearly have feelings for each other in some way or another, right?" Sapnap suggested it like it was a known fact, and Quackity nodded along. I felt my head spinning at the confession. "Then why don't we just have a, uh, polyamorous relationship." _

_ "Well if we're gonna have a polig- a polim- a paw-lee-am-or-us relationship," I had to refrain myself from laughing at his attempts to pronounce the word. How could anyone not find this man adorable? "Then we really gotta work on jealousy. Karl, how do you feel when I do this?" _

_ Suddenly, Quackity was kissing Sapnap. Sap looked just as surprised as I was, but he was quick to kiss back. It was certainly strange to watch the two of them share a kiss, but I felt a new, giddy feeling bubble up. It was the first time I realized that I could, maybe, have both of them. "I think I'm fine with it." _

_ "Alright, then. Sapnap, how do you feel about this?" And then Alex's lips were on mine. It still felt wrong at first to kiss him, especially right in front of Sap. But when I looked in my fiancé's direction, he had a soft smile on his face. _

_ "Will take some getting used to, but it helps that you guys are cute." _

Karl couldn't help but smile at this part of the story, the pain of the beginning fading to the back of his mind. There's no reason the three of them should have ever worked out. And yet, when Karl saw the smiles on their faces, he knew it was meant to be.

He blazed through the rest of their first chapter, detailing Quackity's efforts to get rid of his own jealousy, fueled by insecurity. It led to another painful memory: The first time Quackity broke in front of them.

_ The first time we all properly slept in the same bed together, I was awoken to being pushed away by a shivering figure.  _

_ "Q?" All I heard in response was quick breaths. I did the only thing I could think to do and reach out my hands towards him. "Alex-" _

_ "Don't- please don't--" His pleas were followed by a chorus of apologies. I had no idea what to do, but the commotion thankfully stirred Sapnap awake. _

_ "Quackity? What's wrong?" _

_ "Sap, he's freaking out. I think he's having a panic attack." I knew the concept enough to recognize it, and I'd had a few times in which I was close to one myself, but I didn't know anything about how to help someone going through a panic like that. Much less did I know /why/ Quackity was having one. _

_ "Oh- Oh, Alex, we're here. You're safe. Follow my breathing, alright?" It took a moment, but Quackity began to shakily follow the slow breaths. I started to follow the breathing too, hoping it would help, but I was otherwise useless, watching one of the loves of my life break in front of my eyes. _

_ Eventually, as Quackity's breathing matched Sap's, his entire body seemed to give in to exhaustion. "Big Q? You with us?" _

_ "...Mhm." _

_ "Can we touch you?" _

_ He only managed a nod that time. As I brought Alex to my chest, and Sapnap scooted closer to hug him from behind, I felt tears start to fall on my chest. I had never been more heartbroken for someone before. _

_ For now, all I could do is hold him close and hope he knew what I'd do for him. _

Karl had to wipe tears from his eyes writing this section, likely smearing ink on his face as well. Quackity had come so far since then, but such simple intimate gestures such as cuddling used to leave him gasping for air, reminding him of a past love. When Alex first opened up about his history with the late Schlatt, Karl made a promise to himself; if he ever ran into Schlatt in another time, he'd show him  _ Hell.  _ He's sure Sapnap would do even worse, if he could.

Seeing Quackity heal is a blessing. It isn't perfect - there's never quite been a therapist on the SMP, unless Puffy counts - but Alex's true, loving self shined through more and more with every passing day. Karl sees it in his eyes when they krinkle up with laughter. He hears it in his voice when he doesn't hesitate to say  _ te amo. _ And most of all, he feels it in every warm hug and soft kiss.

But while Quackity's trauma was more easy to see, he was not the only one who needed to heal.

_ The door slammed open to reveal Sapnap, his body slouched and hair covering his eyes. Before I could ask what was wrong, he sat down on the couch next to me and buried his face in my shoulder. _

_ "Sap? What's up?" _

_ "I visited Dream today." _

_ "Oh." I twisted around so Sapnap could lie in my lap instead. He took the opportunity immediately, wrapping himself around me like a koala - like he always does. I tried to sooth him by playing with his hair. "Do you wanna talk about it, big guy?" _

_ "I dunno." He sighed into my chest and shifted to the side to get more comfortable. I moved the hair out of his face, revealing the heartbreaking sight of his red puffy eyes. I had never seen him cry before. "I miss him." _

_ I really was bad at cheering people up, still am. I never knew how to react to tears besides a good hug. Advice or comfort has just never come easy to me, but I would try everything I can for my fiancés. "Did the visit help?" _

_ I don't miss /that/ Dream. I miss /my/ Dream." Sapnap chuckled, but there wasn't much humor in it at all. "The Dream that didn't lose himself to power. The Dream that actually cared about me and George. People try to tell me that Dream never existed, but they didn't know him like I did. I still see it in him, it's just… too far gone." _

_ Knowing everything he did, it's hard to believe Dream was ever anything but crazed for power. But I was around when he and Sapnap were still friends, and I saw firsthand the love they shared. I also knew Sapnap too well. "You want to fix him, don't you?" _

_ "...Yeah. I do." _

_ "You know you can't, Sap." I hated to be so direct, but Sapnap needed to hear it. He didn't like having things sugarcoated. "You can't do that to yourself. You'll just get hurt." _

_ "...I know." _

__ Sapnap still visits the prison rather frequently. Karl and Quackity both wish they could convince him to leave that part of him behind, but they know it's futile. Sap loves with his entire being, and he wouldn't leave an old friend to rot no matter what they did to him. All they can do is show their fiancé how loved he is back.

Karl is surprised by how well he can recall these events. So many memories have been reduced to TV static, yet these stories have always been waiting in the back of his head.

The last one he writes is his favorite.

_ When we finally finished building our new home, it was just a few hours until sunrise. My body was ready to pass out for days, but my brain buzzed with energy at the thought of finally living with my fiancés. _

_ "Carry me to bed, Sap." _

_ "Just cause you're short, doesn't mean you can't walk. _

_ "Hey! You're like, two inches taller than me, at most!" _

_ "I love you guys so much." _

_ The two of them looked at me like I just told them someone died, but giant smiles quickly grew on their faces as they tackled me into a hug. _

_ I giggled as they started kissing all over my face. "Why all the excitement? Not like it's the first time I said I love you." _

_ "It's the first time you said it first, dumbass!" There was no malice in his voice, but I still froze in guilt. _

_ Had I really never said it first before then? I guess verbal language was never exactly how I expressed my love, but it was hard to believe I had never blurted it out before. "I'm sorry. I didn't even realize…" _

_ "Aw, no, it's okay big guy." Sapnap placed a hand on my cheek, directing my face towards him so he could give me a kiss. "We know you love us. It's nice to hear it, but you always find other ways to show it." _

_ Quackity joined in by wrapping an arm around my waist and leaning in close. "Look, love the cheesy shit, but can we go to bed now? I'm literally gonna pass out." _

_ The exhaustion hit me once again. "Can I be in the middle this time?" _

_ "Fine, but I get middle tomorrow night!" _

_ "You guys just don't wanna miss out on cuddling me." _

_ "You're like one of those teddy bears you can put in the microwave to make warm, Sap. Can you blame us?" _

"Whatcha writing there?"

Karl jumps from the sudden sound of Sapnap's voice, making ink smear all over the page. He'd have to rewrite the entire section.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." As Karl places the book down to dry, Sap sits next to him on the couch and wraps himself around his fiancé. He always needed to be touching one of them, and Karl couldn't complain about that one bit. "I've never seen you write out here."

"This one's longer. Needed a change of scenery, I guess."

Sapnap hums, burying his face further into Karl's shoulder. "So many of your stories end all sad. Is this one gonna end happily?"

Karl Looks towards the unfinished book, pages still wet with ink, then back to the man curled up next to him. He wishes Quackity was here, too, to complete the puzzle, but Sapnap was enough to make him feel at home. He brings him as close as possible, almost sitting in Karl's lap.

He smiles, hopeful and giddy all over again. Just like when they built their home. Just like when they first held each other. Just like when they became each others'.

"I think this one will."

**Author's Note:**

> Not used to switching between 3rd and 1st person like that, so lemme know if I made any mistakes 
> 
> Comment if you enjoyed!


End file.
